Have you ever wondered why we dance? Or how it is that we dance at al and where dance comes from?
First traces of dancing can be found on cave paintings in India dating to about 8000 BC and tomb paintings in Egypt from about 3300 BC. 
Back then dancing was taking place for religious reasons. However, soon enough in ancient Greece and Rome, apart from the ritual dances, people started to dance for pleasure, entertainment, or seduction. Further on throughout history, various dance styles developed and people started dancing on their own too. No matter if it’s just moving from one foot to the other or spinning in circles like a dervish, the reasons why we dance are plenty.
Dancing is proven to release serotonin, the ‘feel-good hormone in our bodies. It gives you a feeling of freedom and makes all the worries disappear for a while. It’s also a great exercise, and nowadays professional dancers are considered athletes! We dance to feel joy. We dance to relieve stress. We dance to express our emotions, feel a bond within a community, or uplift our moods.
Can dancing be contagious? We certainly think so, as it happened before! Back in the 16th century
a huge crowd of random people formed and danced for a few months, unable to stop. Just by seeing the dancers, bystanders almost felt compelled to join in. The so called ‘dancing mania’ phenomenon is documented in various historical files, including physician’s notes, cathedral sermons, and various local chronicles. They all confirm that the crowd danced fervently. What they don’t reveal is ‘why’?
The Wacky Mystery game: ‘The Mysterious Case of Dancing Mania’ is based on the true story from that particular event. You will analyse expert notes, city council reports and other documents, to try and find the answer to the burning question: what caused the crowd to dance non-stop for 2 months??
